Champs Cup poses toughest test to Gilas

MANILA, Philippines - Smart Gilas Pilipinas’ Serbian coach Rajko Toroman yesterday said the 21st FIBA-Asia Champions Cup slated May 22-30 in Doha, Qatar will be one of the toughest tournaments lined up for the Nationals.

Iran, Syria and Lebanon, according to Toroman, have tapped tough American imports, easily making them the favorites in the nine-day annual tournament ruled by the Iranians last year in Jakarta.

“It’s going to be really tough,” said Toroman, who steered Iran to the 2007 FIBA-Asia Championship in Tokushima, Japan and the 2008 Beijing Olympics before accepting RP’s offer two years ago.

“All teams are coming out with two imports against our one import. They are also expected to field in their first team because they’re preparing for the Asian Games,” he said.

Toroman was referring to 6-10 Serbian Milan Vucicevic, who arrived Thursday from Serbia to backstop the Nationals out to improve on their fifth place finish in Jakarta.

The 25-year-old Vucicevic last played for a club team in the Emir Cup in Doha and suited up for Greece, Ukraine, Poland and Cyprus.

Syria would be bannered by Demetric Shaw and Thompson Garnett, the same squad Smart Gilas beat in clinching third place in the Dubai Invitational last January.

The Lebanese, for their part, have tapped former RP import CJ Giles and Lenny Cooper while the Iranians will be led by former NBA player Jackson Vroman and Leon Woods.

Toroman said Jordan, a bronze medalist in the 2009 FIBA-Asia Championship in Tianjin, China, kept its roster secret.

Other teams like Kazakhstan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Iraq are also expected to field in their respective national teams as part of their buildup for the Asian Games.

The Nationals are bracketed in Group A along with Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan and the host country.

“We need to win as many as we can to be in the semifinals. We may never know but I’ll just do my best and prepare to win one game at a time.”

Smart Gilas, however, would be playing without JV Casio, who sustained an MCL injury in their Serbian campaign.

Fil-Ams Chris Lutz and Chris Banchero have agreed to play for the country but would not be able to suit up for the team in Doha. Lutz said he would join the team after Doha.

“With JV’s absence, we’ll have a very thin backcourt. He’s our main point guard and I need him to be healthy if we want to go far,” Toroman said. “(Smart Gilas team manager) Frankie (Lim) is still talking to Lutz while Banchero’s school won’t end until July.”

“But we can manage. RJ (Jazul) and Chris (Tiu) are all capable of scoring big and doing JV’s role.”